After the Paris attacks, I was in downtown Los Angeles interviewing a woman for an article I was writing for class. As we were walking out of the caf\u00e9 where the interview took place, a man came up to us and started yelling.<\/p>\n
It took me a little while to realize that he was yelling at me. His face was twisted into an angry expression that, at the moment, was terrifying.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou Mozlem!\u201d he was yelling, \u201cyou did Paris! Kill all Muslims!\u201d<\/p>\n
The Friday after San Bernardino, I woke up to text messages from my friend.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mom just made me shave my beard,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI was just thinking about how I can shave my beard and people won\u2019t know I\u2019m Muslim. But you and other Muslim women can\u2019t just take off your hijabs.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cPlease be careful,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Every time a terrorist attack happens, I clap my hands together, close my eyes, and think, \u2018Please don\u2019t let it be a Muslim shooter, please.\u2019<\/p>\n
A month after San Bernardino, I changed the way I wore my hijab because my mother was terrified I might be attacked. She keeps CNN on TV when she\u2019s at home, so she\u2019s always up to date on attacks against Muslims.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not easy to be a hijab-wearing Muslim in America, even in a place as liberal as Los Angeles. Although I just moved to L.A. from Dubai in August, I\u2019ve been harassed and called a terrorist more times than I can count.<\/p>\n
When in February I participated in a round-table interview with KTLA and other Muslims, I was very impressed by those in attendance, but I was particularly awestruck by one woman: Mirvette Judeh.<\/p>\n
Mirvette wears the hijab like many other Muslim women. She\u2019s a mother of three. She\u2019s a real estate agent and a delegate for the Democratic Caucus. But she\u2019s unusual in one aspect.<\/p>\n
While some hijab-wearing women were contemplating taking off the hijab due to safety concerns, Mirvette decided to put on the hijab at age 38 to, as she puts it, \u201c[be] that person that\u2019s going to take away those misconceptions and those false images that have been assigned to my religion.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nOne Muslim SoCal woman decided to wear the hijab at age 38. More on her story this week. #NextGenRadio<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/vGFqWZ9L8F<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 that poc feminist (@NoorhanMaamoon) March 16, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n